


The Dragon Priestess

by MakaS0ul



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Comedy, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drama, F/F, Fake Religion, Freezerburn - Freeform, I made one y'all, Kinda, Romance, Spiritual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-01 03:29:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14511582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MakaS0ul/pseuds/MakaS0ul
Summary: Weiss is on a field trip out to Haven, one of the most spiritual cities on Remnant. She chases after a dog and comes across an abandoned shrine. After offering a prayer, a golden dragon appears, telling her it's the god of the shrine and she has become the new head priestess. Follow Weiss as she adjusts to her new, bizarre life.





	1. Goodbye, Ordinary Life

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello. I got the idea for the setting when I was walking my dog. I was listening to "EXEC_FLIP_ARPHAGE/." by Akiko Shikata (who has a very mythical music style. I highly recommend checking her out!) and the song gave me a mental picture of a shrine maiden singing a prayer/hymn to the gods. It's from the game series "Ar Tonelico." Anyway, I rolled with the image and this story was what it turned into. Enjoy~!

Weiss Schnee had never liked field trips; being forced into a 3 day overnight stay with a bunch of people she didn’t like was something she would never enjoy. Yet, here she was, surrounded by her irritating classmates in some rundown city in Mistral called Haven.

  
Weiss attended Beacon High School in Vale, a rather prestigious high school that could afford to send its students on overnight field trips to other continents. She had expected to have classmates with as proper of upbringings as her considering the costs to enter the school, but her dreams had been shattered on her first day when she had been hit in the face with an errant flying pancake at the entrance gate. How the rather hyperactive culprit had managed such a feat was beyond her, but she had decided to forget the incident altogether. Since then, it had been more of the same; classmates and peers that seemed to have come right out of the insane asylum surrounding her and irritating her at every opportunity they got.

  
With a heavy sigh, Weiss fixed her attention on her teacher, Ms. Glynda Goodwitch, who was guiding her rambunctious classmates through the various streets.

  
“Now children, this particular area is rather famous. Can anyone tell me why?” Ms. Goodwitch scanned the crowd until she spotted a girl with her hand raised. “Yes, Ms. Valkyrie.”

  
“Is it because of pancakes? I really hope they have pancakes here,” the cheerful ginger, Nora Valkyrie, practically shouted. A quiet boy with black hair, who had been walking next to her, tugged on her sleeve, signaling her to be quiet.

  
Ms. Goodwitch rubbed her temples with a frustrated sigh –Weiss could empathize. “No, Ms. Valkyrie. Anyone else?” Another glance around. “Yes, Ms. Nikos.” Ms. Goodwitch’s tone audibly brightened at the name of one of her best students.

  
A girl with flaming red hair and stunning green eyes spoke up. “It is because of the various shrines in the area. Haven is considered to be one of the most spiritual cities in the world. This particular area is home to over 50 different shrines.”

  
“Very good, Ms. Nikos. Exactly that. The religion here, Takusan, follows a polytheistic ideology, meaning they believe in more than one deity. With that, I’ll conclude lecture here. You all have exactly 4 hours of free time. Explore the shrines around the area with your groups and be sure to return to the hotel by 5:00PM. Understood?” Ms. Goodwitch called out.

  
“Yes, ma’am,” came the reply in unison. The class descended into chatter as groups split off to search the area.

  
For her part, Weiss groaned; she had been dreading this moment. Her lack of desire to socialize with others had forced her into a random group. She had been stuck with Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Jaune Arc, and Pyrrha Nikos. While she didn’t particularly dislike Pyrrha or Ren, the other two left something to be desired; it was difficult to like someone who had hit her in the face with a pancake, and Jaune, the pathetic dolt that he was, managed to get on her nerves by attempting to ask her out at least 5 times. Needless to say, he was persistent in his attempts and it rubbed her the wrong way.

  
Without her noticing, Pyrrha had made her way over to Weiss, greeting her with a friendly smile. “Hello, Weiss! Are you ready to go?”

  
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Where are we going?” Weiss grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

  
“We thought about letting Pyrrha lead the way, since she was originally from this area,” Ren offered quietly.

  
“That’s fine with me. Let’s get moving.”

  
Sensing her white-haired classmate’s impatience, Pyrrha hurried to the front of the group and began to lead them through the streets.

  
The area was fairly clean, though rather old. Houses that had likely been constructed at least half a century prior to the current time dominated the neighborhoods. The streets were narrow, allowing for only one car at a time to drive through them. The difference between Haven and Vale’s cities was astonishing to Weiss. While Vale was sleek and modern, Haven could be described as antique and ramshackle.

  
Pyrrha had led them through various streets, stopping occasionally at little shrines that sat on the sides of the roads. Weiss had been surprised that such small shrines existed, but Pyrrha had mentioned that they were rather common.

 

“The smaller shrines are dedicated to lesser gods. The lesser gods are either mostly unknown, or they have a small following. Despite this, many people who pass by pray at the little shrines. Generally, they will pray at them if they have a small wish, and they save their bigger wishes for larger shrines.” The redhead sounded like an actual tour guide. The only thing she lacked was a disgustingly chipper fake smile.

 

The group approached a large set of stone steps, stopping at the bottom. Pyrrha gestured at the gate that rested at the top. “This shrine is home to a particularly powerful cat god. The shrine itself tends to attract a lot of animals, though the majority of them are cats, as you might guess. Shall we go up?”

 

Nora popped up next to Pyrrha, thrusting a fist into the air. “Yeah! Let’s race to the top! Last one there pays for lunch,” she shouted as she began sprinting up the stairs.

  
Ren and Pyrrha exchanged a glance, shrugging before dashing up the stairs themselves, leaving Jaune in the dust as he tried to follow after them. Weiss was content to walk up the stairs, and would refuse to pay for lunch upon her arrival.

  
Although said arrival seemed like it would never come; the stairs were endless, and Weiss suspected she had maybe climbed a third of the way up when she reached a small landing. She stopped to rest, leaning over and breathing heavily. She would be going to the gym more often after this trip.

  
Her head shot up when she heard a small yip nearby. A moment later, she heard another small bark, and she frantically began to search for the source. While most of her classmates assumed she was unfeeling, referring to her as “Ice Queen” –she would be more than happy to smack Nora for starting that—Weiss actually loved animals. If she had to say whether she was a dog or cat person, she would probably go with dog; there was something about their adorable ways that left her squealing like a child.

  
Finally, she found the source of the barks; a tiny black and white corgi. It had been behind several bushes which, Weiss noticed, were hiding a small trail.

  
Noticing the girl who found him, the dog yipped happily, wagging the little nub of his tail rapidly.

  
Unable to contain herself, Weiss let out an ear-splitting squeal, reaching her hand out to the dog to pet him. When he didn’t flinch or run, she gingerly touched his head, stroking his fur happily. It had been so long since she had petted a dog –far too long in her opinion. Why couldn’t Beacon’s dorms allow pets?—and she planned to relish every moment of it.

  
Unfortunately for her, the dog yipped once and bolted down the path after only a few seconds. He stopped for the briefest moment to look at Weiss before yipping again and continuing to sprint down the path.

  
Not to be deterred by the setback, Weiss took off after him, cursing her lack of running shoes. She would find that adorable ball of fluff and pet him to her heart’s content, with or without proper footwear.

  
In her search, she noticed that the path was rather well hidden by large trees and bushes. It seemed as if it hadn’t been used in years, perhaps even decades. What was at the end, Weiss didn’t know, though she really hoped it was a puppy paradise of some kind. She wouldn’t leave if that was the case.

  
Hearing another excited yip, the icy-eyed girl renewed her efforts, pushing herself to run faster. Fortunately for her, she made sure get regular exercise, so her quest to pet the dog was an exponentially easier one.

  
After a few more moments down the winding dirt path, Weiss came to an abrupt stop in front of a tall red gate; a _torii_ as Pyrrha called it.

  
Just past the gate was a rather large shrine, the main building being about the size of a large apartment. The grounds were in disarray, with weeds shooting up between blocks of concrete and leaves littering the ground. A structure off to one side that seemed to have held water at one point was empty, with the roof above it missing shingles. The main structure, similar to the _torii_ , desperately needed new paint and some patching up. In front of the main building was a large pedestal, though the inscription was too faded to read, and whatever was supposed to rest at the top was gone.

  
Weiss glanced around apprehensively; where had the dog gone? Clearly, the place was no longer in use. Should she be here?

  
As she was about to turn around and run back the way she came, the dog she had chased after appeared in front of her, yipping at her again.

  
“It’s you! Oh, I’m so happy to see you! Yes, I am,” she cooed, reaching out to try to pet the pup.

  
Just before she touched his head, the dog took off towards the main building, stopping again once he reached the top of the steps to the building. He barked once more, as if asking her to come closer.

  
Not wanting to give up just yet, Weiss cautiously approached the shrine, keeping her eyes locked on her prize. When she reached the steps, she hesitantly placed a foot on the first one; she wanted to make sure the thing wouldn’t snap in half underneath her. When it didn’t so much as creak, she continued her ascent, outstretching her hand towards the ball of fluff.

  
Upon seeing the girl reach the top of the steps, the dog barked, running circles around a box that sat in front of a set of doors. What had once been an offering box had fallen into disuse, much like the rest of the shine; it was missing a few bars on the top, but it would still be able to function as it was supposed to.

  
For a moment, Weiss stood there confused, trying to interpret the dog’s circling. “Do you… want me to… offer a prayer…?”

  
Of course, the dog couldn’t truly answer, but when it seemed to yip in response, Weiss shrugged and placed her hands together, closing her eyes like she had seen Pyrrha and Ren do. She was stagnant for a moment, attempting to think of a something, _anything_ , but after a moment, a simple request popped into her head.

  
“I pray that I can pet a lot of dogs on this trip.” Satisfied with her wish, she opened her eyes, searching for the dog.

  
Suddenly, a flash of light forced her to shield her eyes. It was so bright and intensely hot that Weiss likened it to being blasted by sunlight in the midst of summer. The force of it was so strong, Weiss was thrown back, landing on her backside several feet away.

  
Just as quickly as the flash came, it was gone, and Weiss deemed it safe to open her eyes once more. Ever so carefully, she cracked her icy eyes open slightly, wary of any subsequent flashes.

  
In front of the offering box, a large golden dragon, not unlike the ones seen in Chinese myths, had appeared. The beast’s body, covered in brilliant shimmering scales, was as bright as the sun itself, and its body seemed to radiate heat, though not such an intense heat that one would burn from standing too close, but a warmer heat, like something that one would feel when wrapped in a blanket on a cold winter’s night. The dragon stretched itself then, its front and back legs spanning outward in unison as it yawned audibly. The beast’s maw opened wide enough to swallow a small child in one bite, revealing a set of razor-sharp teeth, and resting atop its head was a pair of large antlers, resembling that of a deer’s own. Its slit eyes, a brilliant amethyst, finally seemed to settle on the completely flabbergasted girl in front of it.

  
“You the one who offered a prayer? Thanks! It was awful being asleep for so long. What year is it?” the beast asked nonchalantly, yawning once more.

  
Weiss’s brain was completely stuck. Her jaw was slack, moving mechanically only after being spoken to. What on _Remnant_ was happening? What the hell was this oversized lizard in front of her? “What… what are you?” she managed to force out.

  
Tilting its head, the dragon moved closer to the confused girl, seemingly swimming through the air; it lacked anything resembling wings. “I’m the deity for this shrine. You couldn’t have guessed that?”

  
As the beast approached, Weiss numbly noted that the dragon was easily the length of a bus, perhaps more.

  
After the… lizard’s comment, Weiss seemed to regain some of her bearings, standing up and dusting herself off, huffing all the while. “Don’t act like it should be common sense! You literally popped up out of nowhere! Are you a dragon?”

  
“Well, yeah. What else would I be? A duck?” The dragon looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world, seeming to be confused by Weiss’s lack of comprehension.

  
The absurdity of the situation was wearing thin on Weiss’s grip on her sanity. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, attempting to calm herself. “Dragons aren’t exactly common. And to answer your earlier question, it’s 2016.”

  
“That late, huh? Man, I slept in way too long.” After another large yawn, the dragon continued. “Wait… They aren’t? Only a few hundred years and they’re all gone, huh?” When the dragon received a bewildered look, it chuckled and waved its front leg, as if shooing off the notion. “I was just kidding. Dragons only exist in myths and fairytales. Well, that and right here. I guess deities are a special case.”

  
“Hold on a moment. Explain to me what’s going on. You can’t just pop up out of nowhere, claim to be a god, and then act like I should be totally fine with whatever the hell is going on,” Weiss practically spat, holding a hand up to stop the dragon from speaking further.

  
The dragon swam lazily through the air, twisting and winding its body into random patterns. “Alright. But can you do something for me first? It’ll only take a second,” the beast inquired.

  
Weiss gazed apprehensively at the unnervingly relaxed lizard before her. “What do you want me to do?” she asked cautiously, taking the smallest of steps backwards.

  
“Hold still,” the beast said before pushing its large forehead against hers.

  
Before Weiss could protest, her mind was assailed by images. It felt like she was watching a movie of the world’s history, seemingly from the point of when the dragon first went to sleep to the point when Weiss offered the prayer. Each image seemed to be there for only an instant before the next took its place.

  
The dragon pulled away a moment later, humming at the information. “So that’s what I missed? Technology and civilization have really come far.” The golden dragon rolled its neck, working out a few kinks. “Oh right,” it said, pausing, “you wanted me to explain what’s going on, right?”

  
Once again, Weiss’s mind was in disarray. She had seen several lifetimes pass by in the blink of an eye, and once again, this oversized lizard acted as if she should view the whole event as normal. She gripped her forehead, willing a wave of nausea to die down; she truly was going to lose her sanity if she stayed with this supposed “god” for much longer.

  
With a heavy sigh, Weiss addressed the dragon’s question. “Please do.”

  
“I’ll give you the gist of it,” the dragon said, floating around Weiss languidly. “Basically, I’m the god that inhabits this shrine; my name is most commonly known as Yang Xiao Long. My existence was originally created in a country that is now called Vacuo.”

  
The beast yawned before continuing. “I went into slumber when my shrine lost its followers, and was awakened by your prayer. As my only follower, you are –by default-- the head priestess. I look forward to working with you.”

  
Weiss’s jaw dropped. “ _Head priestess?!_ What does that mean?!” she screeched.

  
Yang winced at the ivory-haired girl’s ear-splitting pitch. “It means that you will be in charge of restoring and maintaining the shrine, attending to ceremonies and such that are associated with me, and of course, gathering more followers. There’s some more complicated stuff too, but that will come much, much later.”

  
Weiss shot Yang an incredulous look. “Does that mean you expect me to stay here and attend to you for the rest of my life?”

  
The golden dragon shrugged. “More or less, yeah. I mean, you currently live in Vale, but there’s no way you could come here every day to do your priestess duties from there, right? Staying here would be the best option,” it said nonchalantly.

  
“And you think I can just drop everything in my life and tell people ‘Oh hey, sorry, but I have to transfer to Haven Academy because I prayed to an abandoned shrine and became its head priestess and now I can’t come home. I hope you understand,’ without looking like I’ve lost my damn mind?” she screeched once more, waving her hands about wildly.

  
“Well when you put it like that, anything will sound ridiculous,” Yang huffed. The dragon swam its body around the ivory-haired girl until they were face to face. “I’m a deity, remember? I’ve got powers for things like this. I can fix the memories of anyone you’ve ever interacted with and they’ll think that you’re just living in Haven now. Nobody will realize a thing, not even your own family.”

  
“You’re forgetting one crucial thing,” Weiss said, fixing the dragon with an icy glare.

  
“What’s that?”

  
“I don’t want to stay here!” The icy glare had turned into a full-on blizzard as Weiss bellowed at Yang.

  
The golden dragon’s shoulders slumped as much as a dragon’s shoulders could slump. “If you don’t stay here and gather faith for me, I’ll go back to sleep until either my shrine is destroyed and I disappear forever, or someone else finds the shrine and prays,” she muttered.

  
Weiss stopped her rant, lowering her arms and searching for the dragon’s eyes. “You’ll… disappear forever?” she whispered. As much as she didn’t want to be forced to stay, she didn’t exactly wish for the dragon to cease to exist.

  
Yang nodded solemnly. “If anything happens to my shrine, yes. My existence is really weak right now, so if anything were to happen to you or my shrine, I’ll be gone from everyone’s memories with no way to return. To us deities, faith is paramount; without it, we cease to exist. That’s why I need you to stay here and gather faith.”

  
“So if I leave but the shrine remains, you’ll still be able to exist in slumber, right? Why is that?” Weiss inquired, her tone far less angry after Yang’s somber revelation.

  
“The shrine represents the potential for faith; someone could stumble upon it and pray, much like you did. If the shrine disappeared and you refused to believe in me, there would be no more potential for faith and no one to pass on my existence, meaning I would no longer exist and could never be revived.” Yang glanced at Weiss with pleading eyes.

  
The ivory-haired girl audibly gulped, sensing her pity for the dragon’s plight beginning to break down her desire to return home and forget the whole event. “What about books? Surely there must be some written record of you or this shrine. Couldn’t that keep you alive?” Weiss was grasping at straws, she knew, but despite her irritation with her school life, she wasn’t sure if she was willing to drop everything to become the head priestess of the shrine.

  
The beast shook its head morosely. “If there were ever any records of my existence, they no longer exist. I went into slumber hundreds of years ago, after all.” It paused, taking Weiss’s small hands within its large, scaly, and talon-tipped own. “I know it’s completely unfair of me to ask this of you, but you are literally the only one I can count on. I need your help, Weiss.” Lilac eyes seared into ice-blue as Yang silently pleaded with the ivory-haired girl.

  
Weiss fidgeted under the intense gaze, desperately wishing that there was some sort of rock she could crawl under to escape from this impossible choice.

  
She bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth. There were a thousand reasons why she shouldn’t agree to help, but there were also many reasons for why she should help. She could feel her moral compass pointing insistently in one particular direction, and so she decided to bite the bullet and follow it.

  
After what seemed to be an eternity of silence, Weiss’s soft voice filled the air. “You can really make people think that I’ve always attended Haven Academy? That there’s nothing out of the ordinary that would make others worry?”

  
Yang nodded furiously. “Yes. Nobody will worry. I can even help you make friends with people here. If you stay, I’ll do everything in my power to make you comfortable and happy.” The deity’s grip tightened ever so slightly.

  
Weiss took a deep breath, leveling her gaze firmly onto Yang. “Fine. I’ll stay, but only on one condition.”

  
What could be assumed was a grin broke out across Yang’s face. “Anything!”

  
“Just… let me say goodbye to my group members. They may have been irritating and absolutely insane, but they weren’t bad people,” Weiss said quietly.

  
“Absolutely,” Yang said cheerily, before pulling Weiss into a bear hug and flying up into the air with her, twirling about this way and that. The dragon squealed with joy while Weiss screamed, holding onto the scaly body of Yang for dear life. “I’m so glad you’re staying! We’re gonna have so much fun! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

  
After Weiss had been safely deposited on the ground after several terrifying minutes of flying, she dusted herself off and headed back down the path.

  
The way back was as quiet as it had been on her original journey to Yang’s shrine, which she took advantage of to think about her decision; she would be leaving everything that she knew behind so she could become the head priestess of a shrine to an unknown god.

  
While it was a bit late to change her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was making the right decision. On one hand, she would be leaving everything she knew and loved behind. On the other hand, she would be helping to keep a deity alive.

 

Though she had no real attachment to the god, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she simply let Yang disappear. With a sigh, she decided that --for the time being-- she had made the right decision.

  
As she approached the stairs to the shrine the group had originally decided to visit, she began to hear her name shouted by her obviously concerned group members. She hurried to the landing she had stopped at earlier and spotted Pyrrha. “Pyrrha, I’m here,” she called, waving her arms.

  
Spotting their missing group mate, Pyrrha called for the others to gather, rushing down to Weiss to wrap her up into a hug that forced the air out of the smaller girl’s lungs.

  
Weiss could feel the redhead’s tears staining her shirt, though she could hardly be mad at someone who had been so worried about her. Awkwardly, she patted the sobbing girl’s back, unsure if she was actually comforting her.

  
Once the others had regrouped, Pyrrha finally released her hold on Weiss, though she kept a grip on the heiress’s shoulders. “Where were you, Weiss? We were so incredibly worried about you!”

  
“Yeah! Ren and I thought you might have been kidnapped by sloth assassins,” Nora shouted.

  
“I didn’t think that, but I was worried about you as well,” Ren amended softly.

  
“Seriously though, what happened to you, Weiss? I thought you were right behind me,” Jaune queried, his sapphire eyes alight with concern.

  
“I… uh… got lost when I was chasing after a dog I saw,” Weiss mumbled, unable to come up with a worthwhile lie. Though she could have told them the truth, it would have made it hard to say goodbye; they would question her sanity –rightfully so-- and she would be unable to get them to focus on her farewell.

  
“You were… chasing a dog?” they questioned in unison, unable to imagine the perpetually-irritable “Ice Queen” following after a puppy to the point of getting lost.

  
“Yes…” Weiss muttered, becoming increasingly embarrassed at the incredulous looks she was receiving. She coughed. “A-Anyway, I’m fine now and I’m sorry for worrying you all.”

  
Pyrrha recovered first, gently shaking her head. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Now let’s get going. We ended up spending most of our free time searching for you, so we have to get back to the hotel now.”

  
As the other members of the group began to follow Pyrrha down the endless stone steps, Weiss called out. “Wait a minute!”

  
Her fellow group mates stopped, turning around to fix her with a confused look.

  
Weiss gulped. She tugged at her collar, feeling hot all of a sudden. “Well, I know I can be a bit… difficult, but I wanted to thank you guys for being so nice to me during my time at Beacon.” She took a shaky step back towards the path to Yang’s shrine. “I hope I’ll see you again someday. I’ll miss you guys,” she said quietly, her voice thick with tears she hadn’t expected to form.

  
Without giving them a chance to respond, Weiss took off down the path. Once again, she was running with all her strength, shaking her head to ignore the confused shouts she heard behind her. She felt the tears roll down her cheeks, leaving hot trails in their wake.

  
In the next instant, Weiss felt as if Remnant had stopped. She no longer heard the shouts of her former group members, or any noises of any kind. The colors were gone from her surroundings, replaced with monochrome, as if she were inside an old photo.

  
In another instant, the world regained its color, though the shouts did not continue. Weiss guessed that it had something to do with Yang. She would have to ask her when she returned.

  
A few moments later, Weiss arrived at the gate of the shrine, stumbling and gasping for air.

  
“Welcome back,” Yang said, swimming cheerily over to greet Weiss. “Did you say everything you wanted to?”

  
Weiss could only nod; she was doubled over with her hands on her knees, still struggling for air.

  
“Don’t worry, you’ll see them again one day,” the dragon said softly, placing a comforting paw on Weiss’s shoulder. While searching for Weiss’s eyes, Yang noticed the tear trails that remained after the girl’s sprint.

  
Opting to not say anything, Yang simply sent a bit of warmth into Weiss, hoping the feeling would be comforting. Receiving a soft sigh as a response, Yang continued in earnest, focusing entirely on comforting the girl.

  
For Weiss, the warmth encircled her like a blanket, exactly as she had imagined Yang’s warmth would. It made her feel that, for the time being, things would be alright.

 

She sent Yang a grateful look before straightening up and wiping the tears from her face.

  
“Well, now that I’ve said my goodbyes, I suppose it’s time for me to figure out what I’m going to be doing,” Weiss said, clearing her throat and forcing her voice to return to normal.

  
With what could be assumed was a grin, Yang nodded. “Alright! Let me show you around!”


	2. Two Surprises, Twice the Fun?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was gonna be a weekly thing, finished university and moved back home and forgot all about this lmao. I'm gonna start back up again and hopefully remember lmao. Enjoy~!
> 
> Note: Dialogue that's all in italics is telepathic conversation. Anything without the quotation marks that's in italics is either thoughts or is italicized for emphasis.

“So, your main duties will be to pray daily, gather followers, assist in rituals and other duties that come with being a head priestess, and of course, clean and fix the shrine,” Yang said, gesturing here and there.

  
Weiss had initially thought that the shrine was in disarray, though as Yang led her around, she realized that it was basically ready to be demolished. Honestly, she was surprised the place was still standing. The wood in the main structure, as well as in the _torii_ and offside structure was practically rotted through.

  
“Sorry, but there’s a ton of work to do. That’s what happens when nobody maintains a shrine for hundreds of years,” Yang said sheepishly.

  
“Ton of work” was an understatement. Weiss was sure that what lay before her was several months’ worth of work. She was probably not going to have any free time for a long while.

  
Yang swam in front of her vision, gesturing to the main structure. “You’re gonna live in there. It’s a lot bigger than it looks.”

  
She paused a minute, fixing Weiss with an apologetic look –or at least as apologetic as a dragon could look. “That’s what you’ve gotta clean first. If you wanna be done by the time it gets dark, you gotta start now. Don’t worry though. I’ll help you!”

  
Before any work could be done, Weiss had to make a trip to the nearby chain superstore to purchase cleaning supplies, a sleeping bag, and some food for dinner.

  
The dragon had managed to hide its presence in order to assist Weiss with carrying her purchases. Apparently, the method altered people’s minds around them so that they simply didn’t notice the giant golden beast. It was about all Yang could manage with only one follower.

  
Weiss tried not to think about it too much, instead opting to thank the dragon for the assistance. She heaved a sigh; it was going to be a long day.

  
When she returned, she quickly set to work. Hundreds of years of disuse had caused the shrine to accumulate a massive amount of dust, not to mention rotten flooring, holes in the wooden doors and their screens, and a draft coming from an unknown location. To Yang’s credit, the main building was indeed larger than it looked.

  
“What do you want me to work on?” Yang asked, swimming into her vision.

  
Weiss handed the dragon a duster. “Fly up to the ceiling and dust. If you can find the source of the draft up there, let me know.”

  
Yang glanced at the duster curiously before nodding and swimming up to the ceiling.

  
Weiss rolled up the sleeves of her jacket and tied her hair into a braid; the last thing she wanted was to get her hair dirty and have to find a place to bathe.

  
Grabbing a duster of her own, she set to work, moving methodically from one spot to the next, leaving no place untouched. If she was going to live here, she wanted it to actually be suitable for living.

  
To her surprise, Yang worked quietly, only occasionally breaking the silence by asking Weiss a question or two. Perhaps the dragon felt obligated to work as hard as possible to repay Weiss for agreeing to stay and help.

  
After Yang finished dusting, the small girl handed over a damp cloth, instructing the dragon to wipe down the high beams. She set about doing the same, running the cloth along the walls and floor.

  
For the time being, nothing could really be done about the holes or the rotting wood, so Weiss focused her energy on what she could do for now. This weekend she would have to figure out some way to replace the rotted wood and patch the holes.

  
The pair worked in silence until the former heiress’s stomach grumbled loudly. Yang chuckled. “Shall we have dinner?”

  
Weiss agreed, going to one of her unpacked bags and pulling out a sandwich she had purchased from the deli department of the store. “What are you going to eat? There’s hardly enough here for both of us.”

  
Yang hummed. “I actually don’t need to eat food; prayer and belief are what keep me alive. Gods usually just eat to enjoy taste.”

  
Weiss tilted her head in thought, taking a bite of her sandwich. “Do you have a favorite food?”

  
The golden dragon brought a talon to its chin, tapping it in thought. “You know, I haven’t tried it yet, but I think I’d really like pizza.”

 

Weiss giggled. “Pizza is pretty good. I’ll buy some tomorrow.”

  
The two continued to chat long after Weiss finished her sandwich, letting their voices fill the air as the moon began to rise into the sky.

  
The former heiress yawned, stifling it behind her hand. “I should probably get to sleep. I have to go to school tomorrow after all.”

  
Yang nodded, swimming into the air above Weiss and curling into a ball. “I’ll make sure to wake you in time to get to school. And don’t worry about papers or class assignments or anything like that. I’ll take care of everything.”

  
“Thanks, Yang.” With that, Weiss unrolled her sleeping bag and climbed in.

  
It was early fall in Haven; the days were warm, but the evenings were definitely chilly. A particularly cold gust of wind blew through the shrine, sending a shiver down Weiss’s spine. She burrows into the sleeping bag, bidding a quiet “goodnight” to Yang.

  
The dragon simply floated there, waiting for the new head priestess to fall asleep. The poor girl had been forced to make an impossible choice, and Yang couldn’t even properly thank her for helping. A rundown shrine was hardly a way to welcome Weiss into her new life.

  
Several moments later, Yang heard something strange. The former heiress had certainly drifted off to sleep, so the dragon was puzzled about the shuddering, clipped breaths coming from Weiss’s sleeping bag.

  
Yang swam down for a closer look.

  
Weiss was shivering violently, her teeth chattering with just as much vigor. Unconsciously, she had a white-knuckle grip on the edge of the sleeping bag.

  
Yang’s eyes widened. The dragon had an incredibly hot internal temperature, often radiating warmth outwards like a heater, making it hard to determine outside temperature.

  
Quickly, but gently, Yang settled down behind Weiss, curling around her petite form, ensconcing her firmly within the dragon’s warmth.

  
The shivering slowly began to subside and the tiny girl’s breathing began to even out. Her grip on the bag lessened until it was nothing more than a gentle curl around the edge. Something though, was still not right.

  
Lilac eyes widened as Yang watched tears slowly roll down the sleeping girl’s face. The dragon felt its heart nearly shatter.

  
Yang curled tighter around Weiss, trying to indicate that she was not alone; that someone was there with her who wanted to help her.

  
Seeing Weiss crying sparked something in Yang; the dragon would do its absolute best to make Weiss happier. But what could Yang do? There had to be something.

  
A flash of red popped into Yang’s mind.

  
_I’ve got it._ The beast grinned toothily.

  
Silently, Yang laid down, humming with contentment at the thought of surprising Weiss tomorrow. _She’ll never see it coming._

 

* * *

 

 

Weiss awoke to the sound of birds chirping. _That’s strange. I’ve never heard any birds from my dorm room before._

  
She opened her eyes slowly, blinking sleep from them as she sat up. _Where is my desk? Why is the ceiling so high?_

  
“Morning,” Yang chirped, uncurling from around Weiss. The dragon rolled its neck, working out a crick.

  
Weiss was hit by a flood of memories all at once. She lowered herself back to the floor. “I’m going back to bed.”

  
“But you’ll be late for school,” Yang said, swimming back and forth above the new head priestess.

  
That got Weiss out of bed quickly. She unzipped the sleeping bag, climbing out and rolling it up. “Where do I get the uniform for Haven Academy?”

  
Yang swam over to the door, sliding it open and pulling open the donation box. The dragon withdrew a black jacket, a white blouse, and a black and gray checkered skirt. Atop the pile of clothes was a white armband.

  
“Here you go,” Yang said, handing the pile to Weiss, who stared blankly at the dragon.

  
“Where did you…? You know what? I don’t want to know. Now turn around so I can change,” Weiss huffed.

  
Yang obliged, snickering about Weiss’s surprise that was waiting for her.

  
A thought popped into the dragon’s head. “Hey, Weiss.”

  
The former heiress half-turned while she zipped her skirt. “Yes?”

  
“I’ve got two surprises for you! You’ll get one at school and one when you come home,” Yang grinned.

  
Weiss fixed the god with a suspicious look. She narrowed her eyes. “What are you planning…?”

  
The dragon chuckled. “Nothing bad, I swear! You’re gonna love them!”

  
“Somehow I doubt that,” the girl drawled. She grabbed her backpack and headed for the door. “I’ll see you later, Yang.”

  
The dragon waved its front leg, snickering. “Have a good day!”

 

* * *

 

 

Weiss arrived at the front gate to Haven Academy ten minutes later. During her walk, she discovered that her jacket pocket had a class schedule, along with a list of names and photos of her classmates and teachers. In her bag, Yang had somehow managed to gather all the textbooks and other materials Weiss would need. Deities were something else, Weiss mused.

  
Funny enough, nobody paid her any mind as she walked; no whispers, staring, not even a mere glance in her direction. She truly seemed as if she had been a student there the whole time.

  
Instead of worrying about being out of place, she was free to think back to Yang’s snickering. What was that overgrown lizard up to?

  
Before she could ponder, she heard a voice shout, “Weiss?”

  
She whipped her head around so fast, she was convinced she nearly snapped her own neck. Running towards her with a hand high above her head in greeting was Pyrrha Nikos.

  
The tall redhead stopped in front of Weiss, grinning widely. “It really is you, Weiss! I’m so glad to see you!”

  
Every function in Weiss’s brain had stopped. What on _Remnant_ was Pyrrha doing here? Her jaw worked mechanically, moving but not producing any sound.

  
Pyrrha tilted her head slightly. “Is something the matter, Weiss? Are you that surprised to see me?”

  
Sensing that her vocal chords were not going to cooperate, the new head priestess opted to nod stiffly.

  
The taller girl let out a laugh. “I’m just as surprised as you are! I can’t believe we transferred to Haven Academy on the same day. What are the odds?”

  
An image of a laughing golden dragon popped into Weiss’s mind and she ground her teeth. She knew the _exact_ odds.

  
Weiss let out a sigh. Even though what Yang had done was beyond unfair to Pyrrha, she was grateful all the same. At least now she wouldn’t be as lonely.

  
There was something that nagged at her; why did Pyrrha think Weiss had simply transferred while all the other students seemed to think she had always been a student there? The number of questions she had for Yang was growing.

  
Realizing she hadn’t said a word to Pyrrha yet, Weiss coughed. “It’s good to see you too, Pyrrha.” Silently, Weiss resolved to be friendlier to Pyrrha; the girl was one of the few people on Remnant that would actually be happy to see her after all.

  
The two exchanged a warm smile until the school bell rang, signaling that students who weren’t already inside should hurry and enter.

  
Weiss and Pyrrha hurried into the building, confirming that their schedules were the same along the way. No doubt that was Yang’s work again. She’d have to thank the overgrown lizard when she returned home.

 

* * *

 

 

The final bell for the day rang and students began packing up, opting to ignore the teacher who was attempting to talk over all the noise. Sensing that nobody was listening, the teacher gave up, leaving with an indignant huff.

  
Weiss was surprised yet again that nobody questioned hers or Pyrrha’s presence in the school. It made her wonder just how much power Yang had. What else could the god do that Weiss didn’t know about?

  
A flash of red appeared in her vision and she looked up into kind emerald eyes. “Hey, Weiss. Since you just transferred to Haven, I was wondering if you’d like me to show you around,” Pyrrha said, a friendly smile on her face.

  
Weiss bit her lip. While she would like to join the taller girl, there was still a lot of work to do around the shrine. There might also be some ritual or another that she had to perform.

  
_“It’s alright if you want to hang out with her. There’s nothing you need to do here that can’t wait a little bit._ ”

  
Weiss yelped, startling Pyrrha. “Weiss? Is everything alright?”

  
No, everything was _not_ alright. She heard a voice that was not her own inside her head. _“Yang?!”_

  
_“Sorry to scare you like that, Weissy. I can speak to you through telepathy, since you’re my head priestess and all,”_ the dragon chuckled.

  
_“You couldn’t have told me about this before I went out in public?! Are you trying to make me look crazy?!”_

  
She suddenly remembered Pyrrha; the poor girl was worriedly looking at Weiss. “I’m fine, Pyrrha, really. I just… um… stubbed my toe on the desk leg is all. Sorry about that.”

  
The redhead breathed an audible sigh of relief. “I’m sorry to hear that, though I thought it was something much worse.”

  
Weiss coughed awkwardly. “A-Anyway, I’d love it if you showed me around.”

  
“Wonderful! If you’re ready, let’s go,” Pyrrha said, a wide smile on her face.

  
_“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do when I get home, Yang.”_

  
All she got in response was roaring laughter.

 

* * *

 

 

Pyrrha and Weiss spent the afternoon walking about Haven’s streets with Pyrrha pointing out where various shops and attractions were.

  
Taking advantage of their time together, Weiss made sure to ask her companion various questions, trying to make up for not befriending the redhead earlier.

  
Pyrrha, of course, was happy to oblige, answering cheerfully and asking Weiss questions of her own; she knew as little about Weiss as Weiss did her. It was a productive time for both of them.

  
Several hours later, Pyrrha showed Weiss a pizza shop, where the smaller girl ordered a large pie with various toppings to share with Yang when she returned home.

  
Afterwards, the two parted ways with a promise to see the other tomorrow. Weiss arrived at the steps leading up to the cat god’s shrine and began her long and arduous trek back to her new home.

  
When she arrived at the rotting _torii_ , her legs felt like jelly. She wondered just how much exercise she would get from all the walking each day.

  
Yang swam forward to greet her. “Welcome back! How was school?”

  
“Fine,” Weiss huffed out, her lungs still burning from her journey.

  
“And how was your surprise?” The dragon’s voice dripped with amusement.

  
“I can’t believe you made Pyrrha transfer here. Why did you do that?” Her tone was one of exasperation, not anger as she questioned the god.

  
“I didn’t want you to be lonely. She seemed like a good friend, and I wanted you to be happy here,” Yang said, having the grace to sound somewhat sheepish.

  
Any snippy reply she’d had was gone at that. She couldn’t truly be mad at Yang for wanting to help her. Plus, Pyrrha didn’t really seem bothered by the whole situation.

  
“Well… thank you, Yang. But why does Pyrrha think I transferred while everyone else thinks I’ve always gone to school at Haven?”

  
The dragon shrugged. “I thought it would be easier to alter Pyrrha’s mind just a little bit rather than completely mess with it. Besides, I’m pretty sure your relationship with your classmates and teachers would be the same either way. You didn’t exactly seem to be a social butterfly.”

  
Weiss had no response to that; it was probably true anyway. “Alright, fine. But what about the telepathy stunt you pulled?” Irritation seeped into her voice.

  
“ _You mean this?_ ” Yang’s voice was clearly amused.

  
“Stop that! Explain yourself,” Weiss snapped. Once again, Yang was getting on her nerves like no other.

  
The dragon shrugged. “You’re the head priestess and we can talk to each other through our minds. You seemed to get it earlier when you were at school. What’s the problem?”

  
“The problem is that you didn’t tell me we could do that and you scared me half to death! Warn me about things like that next time!” Weiss had entered the shrine during the exchange and set the pizza down.

  
The dragon raised its legs up in a placating fashion. “Alright, alright. I’m sorry and I won’t do something like that again without warning you first.”

  
“Good,” Weiss huffed, opening the pizza box. “Now come over here so you can try the pizza.”

  
Needing no more incentive, Yang quickly swam over, golden tail swishing happily behind.

  
Weiss pulled out two slices for Yang and one for herself. They lacked any plates to eat off of, but with pizza, it didn’t really matter.

  
Before the dragon took a bite, it paused, gently setting the slices of the coveted food back inside the box.

  
“Hey, Weiss! You remember how I said there were two surprises for you?”

  
The new head priestess nodded warily, mouth already halfway open to take a bite. Her stomach grumbled in protest at the delay.

  
“I almost forgot about the second one! Are you ready?” Yang asked, tail swishing once more.

  
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Weiss muttered.

  
Suddenly, she was blinded by a flash of brilliant golden light. She nearly dropped her slice of pizza in her haste to shield her eyes.

  
From what she could make out, Yang’s body began to shrink, changing shape all the while. With a final flash, the transformation was complete.

  
Sitting in front of Weiss was a tall, well-endowed woman with sun-kissed skin and rippling muscles. A wild mane of blonde hair framed the woman’s face and lilac eyes and tumbled down to her waist. Adorning her body were ornate orange robes.

  
The woman, presumed to be Yang, rolled up her oversized sleeves and grabbed the slices of pizza she had set down.

  
“Surprise,” she cheered before chowing down on her meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang's robes are basically a kimono, but since Japan doesn't really exist in the story, I didn't just outright say that it was a kimono. Does that make sense? If there's any confusion feel free to ask! Until next time~!

**Author's Note:**

> A few notes: Firstly, Takusan is heavily based off of the Shinto religion. I didn't want to worry about getting all the details of Shinto practice correct, and I wanted more freedom to create a more lax set of rules, so I decided that taking some things from it and adding my own stuff would be the best option. And secondly, as some people may know, "Takusan" means "many" or "lots" in Japanese, which I related to the fact that Takusan is polytheistic. Until next time~!


End file.
